Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Zeroth Child's Saga
by EVA-01 Beta
Summary: The 3rd Chapter is up. The next one might just be on time in May. After this, pleade read Section Two: Mission Impossible, as recommended in the end Author's Notes
1. Chapter 1: Skydiving Death

**_Neon Genesis Evangelion:_**   
**_The Zeroth Child's Saga_**   
**_Chapter 1: Skydiving Death_**

Author's Notes:   
1. I in no way what-so-ever lay any claim to Neon Genesis Evangelion or it's contents. All I lay claim to is the characters and plot that I develop for this fic that isn't part of the manga or series.   
2. This is my first attempt at a fic, so PLEASE minimize flames, although any useful criticism is gratefully accepted. ~_~"   
3. I will mutate parts of the story line to suit my purposes (such as Major Katsuragi already being the Director of Operations and the presence of all three Children and EVA's during the 3rd Angel's attack) But I will do my best to stay in character, with occasional 'transgressions'.   
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On a calm, quiet, peaceful day in Tokyo-3, Shinji and Asuka are slowly walking home from school as usual, not because Shinji liked being within thwacking distance of the red-head hell bitch, but because he feared the consequences of not doing so. Every time he thought of even getting the slightest bit independent of his forced roommate, he had visions of many large, heavy things flying towards his head at unavoidably high speeds. 

The young Ikari was spared yet another envisioning of a fractured skull as the old air raid siren started blaring and a panic-inducingly calm and subdued female voice stated, "A special state of emergency has been declared for this area. Please head to your designated shelters immediately." 

"DAMN!! The first of the Angels attack and there's no way I can beat Wondergirl to the punch. I lose my first chance to prove my obvious combat skills single-handedly. Oh well, everyone's loss." Asuka reassures herself while speeding up to a dead run, "Wondergirl'll probably need help. I can hear it now. 'My EVA came to the conclusion that I am an emotionless idiot and will not activate for reasons of self-preservation.'. Sweet music to my ears..." Asuka is momentarily broken from her blissful dreams of Rei's downfall by the fact that Shinji wasn't moving fast enough. "SHINJI! MOVE IT! It's not like NERV can say 'We're sorry, Mr. 3rd Angel, but our EVA pilots aren't available right now. Could you please have a seat in the waiting room instead of triggering Third Impact?'!" 

"I'm *huff* sorry *puff* Asuka. *pant* I can *weeze* only move *pant* so fast." And Shinji wasn't exaggerating. Despite his Phys. Ed. class, he wasn't the almost marathon runner Asuka was. 

"*humf* Yet another proof of the human male's inferiority to it's female counterpart." Asuka's innate arrogance took away any possibility of a reassuring gesture, despite a two mile rush, "WELL?! We're here already, let's go!" the Red-haired Demon called over her shoulder as she jogged into the ebony pyramid that was NERV.   
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GPS Co-ordinates: 40° N., 145° E.

*Approching Tokyo-3 Outer Defense Zone, sir.* A gruff, southern voice grumbled through the comm system, *Permission to radio in status?* 

*Huh,... what? What? I was having this great dream about me and Brittany, so this better be good.* A groggy but slightly annoyed voice came back. 

*Sir, we're 210 miles outside of Japanese airspace and 300 out from Tokyo-3 proper. I was requesting to transmit identification information and send out our IF/F data to keep from being shot at.* The Captain replied. 

_Ah, what the hell, let 'em get my welcome wagon ready. When I'M ready to let 'em, that is.> _The young teenage passenger thought to himself, *Let's make 'em sweat a little bit. As soon as we hit the inner defense line, comm it in, as we discussed earlier. This is going to be fun, I think.* 

*As you wish, sir. However, I would like to voice my opposition to such potentially dangerous actions, sir.* The Captain was NOT impressed, but orders were orders.   
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NERV 6th Division Headquarters: Central Dogma

"Status Report!" 

"Pattern Blue confirmed. The MAGI report that it is the 3rd Angel." Lt. Hyuga called back to the Director of Operations. 

"U.N. Defense forces are engaging. Estimated combat effectiveness, 37%." Lt. Aoba responded, "Estimated time to line collapse, 7 minutes." 

"ETA for EVA launch?" The purple-haired beauty questioned as she scanned the tactical boards, telling her exactly what the 'status report' had. 

"Unit-00, forty seconds, Unit-01 and Unit-02 are ready to launch as soon as their pilots show up," The blonde scientist Dr. Akagi stated from about three feet behind Major Katsuragi, "fifty-two seconds plus however long it takes those two to get here." 

"Where the hell are they, anyway? I mean, it can't take them THAT long to get here..." The Major was cut off by two voices bellowing, "WE'RE HERE!!" as they went running down the main umbilical bridge, one a bright cherry red with a green collar, the other silver and blue with a red collar, and breaking off at an equally red Unit-02 and a deep purple and green Unit-01. 

"About damn time! We were about to sent Rei out there alone!" An only enraged Misato Katsuragi yelled at the Command Center's central voice microphone, "Now hurry it the hell up and get out there. The U.N. is getting its' ass kicked and can't hold out much longer." 

"All Cage safety equipment released. Unit-00 ready to launch." Came the emotionless voice of the First Child, Rei Ayanami, closely followed by Second and Third Children, piloting Units-02 and -01 respectively. 

"Raising all EVA's to launch positions. Designate point of arrival." The third technician, Lt. Obuki, read out. 

"Launch them out through gates... 72..., 77..., and 83. That should form a kind of assault line right in the Angel's path." The Major concluded. 

"Launch paths clear. On your order, Major." Lt. Obuki responded almost as soon as Misato finished. 

"LAUNCH EVA!!" 

Instantly, three ignition systems activated, propelling the sixty foot tall biological killing machines up through almost a mile of rock and armor plates, following a predestined coarse to the surface. Upon arrival, the last bolts released, freeing the EVA to do its' pilot's bidding. All three pilots called out, "Final safety locks released, commencing engagement." 

"Major!" Hyuga exclaimed, "Unidentified airborne object inbound. The MAGI are still analyzing." 

"WHAT?!?! ARE YOU TELLING ME WE HAVE ANOTHER ANGEL COMING AFTER US?!?!" Misato freaked out, screaming orders at the three tech's, which came down to 'nuke everything'. 

"What a second," Maya Obuki broke into Katsuragi's tirade, " Ma'am, all three MAGI concur, it's a modified American VTOL." 

"Get its' pilot on the line. I want a piece of his ass!" Misato snatched her headset off the computer console, 

*Unidentified VTOL pilot, this is NERV Headquarters. Report in immediately* 

*This is U.S. Navy transport Echo-Bravo-Delta-Two-Seven-Niner, dropping one Special Payload Zero-Seven on Tokyo-3 Nosebolt* 

*Belay that! The Tokyo-3 area is currently off limits to all air and ground traffic. Re-route immediately for the Matsushiru Air Base. That is a direct order from Major Misato Katsuragi, Director of Operations.* 

*Ma'am, I don't care if your name was Jesus-ett Christ. I have orders for this drop and orders to ignore any orders that will delay or prevent that drop. Echo-Bravo-Delta-Two-Seven-Niner, over and out* 

"FUCK!... What the hell is 'Special Payload Zero-Seven'?" 

"I... I don't know! The MAGI are at a loss. It must be some sort of American code we've never encountered before." Lt. Aoba answered. 

Ritsuko Akagi, head of Evangelion Research and Development, guessed, "Special Payload Zero-Seven........... they could mean the new American Evangelion, Unit-07. It's due here tomorrow, but Americans tend to be very early or VERY late." 

"OH, SHIT!!!! An untested EVA in an active combat zone! That's suicide!" 

*Evangelion Unit-07 reporting online and fully functional. All batteries at 100% charge, energy weapons power storage at full power, all launch tests successful.* A young boy's voice filtered through the din. Even with the distortion of the transmission, the voice still had a kind but proud tone and a strong undertone, *Will commence drop in..... 3,...... 2,...... 1,...... GO!* 

As the **_V_**ertical **_T_**ake**_O_**ff and **_L_**anding (VTOL) craft momentarily hovered over the core of Tokyo-3, a large black monolith broke away from its' underbelly, dropping like a rock towards the city below as the aircraft sped to safety at the Air Base. As it approached the surface, the monolith exploded, scattering shards of black shrapnel everywhere while a huge, light-absorbing black figure continued to plummet until it landed in a kneeling position with a resounding BOOM. 

*Mission Time: 04:38 hours Zulu time, 13:38 Tokyo-3 local. Commencing first combat engagment.* The voice on the radio signaled just before the curled-up EVA's eyes glowed a pulsing red for a split second before they shifted to a less terrifying yellow. Just then, the Public Address system speakers activated and a second later, the most surprising sound on earth came out, a song starting with one of the most well known lines in America: 

***_Y'all ready for this_**.....* 

The End ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Next Chapter should be up in mid March. 


	2. Chapter 2: Introductions and Conclusions

**_Neon Genesis Evangelion:_**   
**_The Zeroth Child's Saga_**   
**_Chapter 2: Introductions and Conclusions_**

Author's Notes:   
1. I in no way what-so-ever lay any claim to Neon Genesis Evangelion or it's contents. All I lay claim to is the characters and plot that I develop for this fic that isn't part of the manga or series.   
2. This is my first attempt at a fic, so PLEASE minimize flames, although any useful criticism is gratefully accepted. ~_~"   
3. **_I will mutate parts of the story line to suit my purposes (such as Major Katsuragi already being the Director of Operations and the presence of all three Children and EVA's during the 3rd Angel's attack) But I will do my best to stay in character, with occasional, unavoidable, and plot serving 'transgressions'._** (A clue-in concerning a lot of my flames)   
4. NEW! ~things appearing like this represent things the characters see, smell, touch, hear, or taste that can't be slid easily into the story any other way.~   
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**_ *Y'all ready for this.....*_**

The kneeling ebony plated being that was Evangelion Unit-07 slowly and methodically rose to its' feet, every move looked as years had been spent practicing the most menacing method of performing them. Upon completing this task, the giant bioandriod spent a moment orienting itself, locating its' fellows, and, most importantly, the Angel. As the volume of the music outside rose the slightest bit more, the new EVA set about hunting its' prey. As it marched don the streets of Tokyo-3 towards 'Target-01", as Unit-07's tactical computer defined it, the Eva raised both its' hands up to the opposite shoulder pylons and drew out the two Progressive Knives stored there, activating both with an ear-splitting whine. 

ENEMIES!> was the first, last, and only thought that went through the Angel's mind on what the three big moving things were in the metal canyon, the metal canyon built above its' goal, its' purpose. The gargantuan humanoid shaped wall of flesh's only solution came as KILL!>. As the Angel preceded to do this, however, another enemies fell from the sky, and for the first time, an Angel produced a logical, independent thought which consisted of more than one word: What_ if they can fly?>_ This incredible feat was almost too much for the near mindless killing machine, and it stopped it's approach to take a moment to recover itself. It picked a WAY wrong place and a WAY wrong time to do this, as that black, flying enemy leaped out of one of the side canyons and rushed it. 

_Impressive, to say the least_> the pilot thought as his sleek, new, untested Unit-07 did a good 80 MPH rush at the Angel. Reinforcing his AT-Field with a little extra juice from their own independent batteries, EVA-07 rammed straight into the rapidly collapsing AT-Field of the 3rd. Angel. As soon as the tac. com. said it was down to 'safe levels' (approx. 20% or less), the Progressive Knife in it's left hand jammed it's way into the otherwise invisible wall made visible by the strain of sustaining itself under this immense onslaught, breaking through with ease as the blade slashed about, carving a pentagonal hole in the barrier. This hand quickly retreated as the black robot spun in through the hole, swiping out with both Knives, doing little more than buying the pilot time to set up, which was time put to good use. After a moments wait to set the tempo, the new warrior proceeded to carry out a full thirty second combo series that Capcom® would have been proud of, keeping perfectly to the beat of the music, creating incredible grace to otherwise sloppy moves. This combo would have gone on longer, if two things hadn't happened at roughly the same time: 1. The 'ONE MINUTE TO POWER FAILURE' warning started flashing on his status display; and: 2. His radar display showed three blips hidden behind the buildings around him, one blue, one purple, and one red, with the little IDs under them reading 'EVA-00', 'EVA-01', and 'EVA-02', respectively. Knowing that he needed external power, that they definitely had external power, and not knowing that much about where to find external power in Tokyo-3, he decided on what he felt was the most effective option. 

With a last, unbalancing slice, Unit-07 vaulted over the Angel, landing, rolling, and coming up running. Taking the first left, he continued on until he arrived at his destination, right behind Unit-02. Might_ as well try to be kind about it_> He thought as he activated his comm. system and tapped the hot key labeled 'EVA-02' *Good morning! I need power, and you're it.* he said in the cheeriest tone he could manage. *Relax, you'll live.* he added as Unit-02 twitched as he used his EVA to pry the power conduit out of the red machine's back and proceeded to insert it into his EVA's own, identical one. _One size really DOES fit all!> _he thought sarcastically as he snapped his finger down on the 'RAPID RECHARGE' option on the status display. 

*While I'm busy here, you COULD go do your JOBS and tackle that damn thing, you know.* The pilot quipped over the airwaves as the '% POWER' bar rose to 35%. 

*What the hell do you mean, 'do our JOBS'?! We were doing our jobs until you DROPPED in! And give me my power cable back, you pompous little bastard!* Asuka screamed over the general comm. channel. 

*Shinji, Rei,* Major Katsuragi's voice came over the comm. system calm and clear, *He has a point. You two team up on that Angel. Asuka, as soon as you get your power cable back, either team up with Unit-07 or engage independently. We need that thing down and out.* 

*What makes you think I'll TOLERATE being paired off with THAT!* The EVA's pitch black hand pointed absent-mindedly at Asuka's EVA, *I refuse to deal with the close proximity of competition in the 'World's Greatest Ego' contest.* the pointing EVA's pilot informed. _How much of this do I have to put up with?!_> he wondered, getting bored with the inactivity. 80%. 

*You DARE to speak of the Great Asuka Langley Soryu in such a manner!!!!! The moment you're outta' that entry plug, you're a dead man!* Asuka's video image turned a menacing shade of light red. *...And turn your video feed on, so I can see the face of the soon to be deceased!* 

100%. Finally. *Too damn lazy to reach the switch. You lose. Oh, well. Batteries to full power. You can have this back, O ^Great Asuka Langley Soryu^. And you call ME pompous?! I'm not the self-proclaimed 'Great One'. My actions give me that title, I don't have to convince anyone of it. Now then, where'd that Angel go. It's off my radar.* Unit-07's pilot said as he tossed the loose power cable in the general direction of Unit-02. 

*The remains of the creature in question are in the proximity to the heat damaged Unit-01 it self-destructed on. While you and Pilot Soryu are arguing, we "did our jobs".* Rei stated in her usual monotonous voice, moving her EVA into position to support Unit-01. 

*...(LONG pause)... Oh,... damn,.... okay, mission completed. Uh..., return to base, I guess.* The American EVA pilot was at a loss for words, but hauled his giant mecha off in the general direction of one of the recovery pads that dot the streets of Tokyo-3. One by one, the other EVAs moved off as well. The slightly melty Unit-01 spent an extra minute on the surface to cool down, and as a result, was the only pilot to notice that the music had stopped, but was not the only one to notice Unit-07 rapidly disappearing into the earth. 

"Who the hell ordered his recovery,?!" Misato Katsuragi was at a loss. 

"I don't know, the MAGI say it was an automated response," Maya Obuki started, "but the automatic systems require a triple encoded password..." 

*Which I have, along with the MAGI remote access codes, Tokyo-3 Defense Net command codes, door release codes, car alarm deactivation codes, nuclear launch codes, so on and so forth. You name it, it's in here somewhere.* The young man cut in. 

"And you got these codes how?!" 

*Because a stupid NERV 2nd. Branch Base Commander left a short list of access codes in the hands of an apprentice hacker, AKA me, who used them to gain even more. Soon, you end up having more power than the guys who have more power than God. It's kinda' sweet, if you think about it.* Unit-07's pilot came back, a smile being evident in his tone. 

"What...ever. I can't deal with this anymore. I have locks to change." 

*Did I mention I have a lockpick set and the skills to use it?* 

"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!! GOD!!! MAKE... IT... STOP!!!!!" 

*God, it's gonna' be fun working with you, Katsuragi. Oh, uh, you don't mind if I call you 'Katsuragi', do you? It rolls off the tongue a lot nicer than 'Major Katsuragi, ma'am'....* 

"At this point, I don't care. Just report in to the commander when you get here. I have work to do and SANE people to take care of." Misato growls as she performs a crisp military style about-face and walks away from the control center. 

*Katsuragi, I'm hurt.* the voice comes back over the speakers with wave of mock emotion, followed by a more serious tone, *But I'm just harassin' ya'. Part of initiation, it's pretty much over now. But you have to admit, it is hilarious watching you go ballistic. I haven't made anybody go THAT nuts in a while. Thanks for the entertainment and sorry about the terrorizing. Okay? O-K!* 

"EVA-07 recovered in Cage 14... What the hell? The quarantine protocols have initiated and the Cage is being sealed off." Hyuga reported and exclaimed. 

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO NOW?!?!?!" a VERY pissed Major yelled at the control panel. 

*Well, Unit-07 was scheduled for delivery at oh-seven-hundred hours tomorrow morning. Until then, this Evangelion is still U.S. property, and according to international treaties between the U.S. and Japan, is considered U.S. territory. Since I don't want to guard this thing all night and I'm pretty sure you don't want to have to set up a Customs checkpoint inside the cage, I'm just locking her down here for the duration of her one night stand, and I'll let the locks release in the morning. Sayonara. Oh, and don't worry, I'll put up a little sign on the door that says 'do not enter' or, how's it go in Japanese again? Shinnyu...ken, no, kinshi. Yeah, 'shinnyu kinshi', that's it. See ya' in the mornin'.* 

_I don't get paid enough for this. That's all there is to it. WAY not enough._> Katsuragi thought as she sighed and gave up completely.   
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Apartment #627, Tokyo-3, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan ^3:12 PM^ 

~Sees a nameplate on the door that reads "R. A. Sterling"~ 

_Home, sweet home. In theory, at least._> Sterling thought as he slid the key card through the lock on the door and watched as the LED light switched from red to green and made a little ~BING~ noise. A second later, the hydraulics on the door pulled it open, and slid it quietly shut as soon as he crossed the infrared 'safety' beam, making the same ~BING~ noise to indicate the door had locked again. 

As he passed through the hallway, he decided he had time to unpack a little before taking his well deserved catnap. _I mean, I HAVE been up all night running drills and simulations. 'You must maintain your edge' they say. I say I need sleep more._> He grabbed a box marked 'BEDROOM' as it caught his eye. He dropped the box on the bed, opened it up, and proceeded to put up the complete three day set of clothes he found inside. That's the way he packed all his clothes, it was based on how many complete sets of clothing would fit in it. This way, if he needs a set or two, he just grabs a box and he's set. 

Upon completion of this, he flopped out on his new bed, his only slightly athletic body landing with a soft thud. It was only then that he realized his shoes were still on. "Damn. If I'm gonna' live here, I might as well TRY to respect local customs." With this, his drug his suddenly very tired form up and back out to the hall, where he pulled the laces of his cross trainers and started prying them off his feet. ~loud, liquidy grumbling noise is heard.~ "SON OF A BITCH!!! Does the universe have something against me getting some SLEEP?!?!?!"   
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Apartment #627, Tokyo-3, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan ^4:48 PM^ 

After spending over an hour trying to find a decent place to eat, Sterling finally gave up and capitalized on America's most popular contribution to the world, otherwise known as McDonalds®. What followed was simple order of two cheeseburgers   
(no pickles), a lesson on exactly WHAT is found in a Japanese cheeseburger, a lot of swearing, and a vow to never eat there again. A very unhappy walk home ensued. 

"Life as I know it sucks ass. Big time." 

Without further concern to his stomach, and actually remembering to take his shoes off this time, the young man once again crashes on his bed, this time, with no intentions of getting up. Not until sometime tomorrow morning, anyway.   
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NERV Main Gate ^4:48 PM^ 

"I want FOOD!!! Real food, not that nasty shit the NERV cafeteria comes up with and most definitely not the nastier shit YOU come up with, Misato!" The Red-head Hellbitch bellowed after suffering hours upon hours of tests and analyses with her fellow EVA pilots, but not ALL her fellow pilots, "Where's that little punk who jacked my power anyway. Why couldn't he join the party. Then, at least, I would've gotten a chance to see the face of the enemy." 

"He had something in the general area of a point, about the EVA's delivery. But where he is, how should I know? Now then, there is this one ramen stand I want to try out..." responded Misato, starting to salivate at the thought of good ramen soup. 

"NOT AGAIN!!!!!" both Asuka and her Spineless Wimp of a roommate cried.   
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Apartment #627, Tokyo-3, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan ^6:37 AM^ 

Decked out in full military dress uniform befitting a U.S. Navy officer, young Mr. Sterling exited his now unpacked and livable apartment, took the first step towards the elevators, and hesitated when the door didn't automatically shut. Taking that first step back again, the door finally decided to shut. _Need to call maintenance about that...>_ Sterling thought as a loud voice interrupted his thoughts, "Bye, Misato! See you later!" 

He barely had enough time to turn around and see the running form of the Second Child, body twisted back towards the door she had rushed out of, plow full steam ahead into him. both stumbled a few feet before falling to the ground with a ~thump~ sound and a ~whoosh~ as Asuka's elbow found his stomach. Whincing from the pain, Sterling finally opened his eyes to find the red-head assailant on all fours above trying to catch her own breath; it appeared as though the offending elbow had caused her fist to leave her in a similar condition. Their orientation and her attempts to recover her breath provided an excellent range of sight through her rather loose top. 

"Somebody could have WARNED me about the 50 yard dash practice on this floor!!!!" He smarted off. "But, I have to admit, the view from down here is an excellent reward for the pain and shame involved." he noted while admiring said view. 

"AAAHHH!!! HENTAI!!! GET OFF ME!!!!!" Asuka screamed as she threw her hands over her chest, jumped up and ran half way back to her apartment of origin. 

"YOU were the one who tackled ME, and YOU were the one who was on top of ME. So don't be telling ME to get off." The victim demanded, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have places to be and people to SEE, the latter half of which I doubt you're familiar with." he ended as he brushed himself off, about-faced, and continued to his original destination, the elevators. Asuka stared at him with an expression akin to utter shock and horror.   
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NERV 6th Division H.Q. Base Commander Ikari's Office ^6:59 AM^ 

*Commander, sir, there is someone to see you.* His personal secretary called through the intercom. 

*I am indisposed. Tell him to come back later.* Unbeknownst to his subordinate, Commander Ikari had a full video feed of the entire facility, and knew five minutes ago that he was coming. 

* Sir, he insisted that it is urgent.* The intercom responded. 

*Very well, let him in.* Ikari sighed, mentally commending this boy; most full-grown men lacked the courage to oppose the will of Gendo Ikari. 

With fluid military grace, the left door (to Ikari's perspective, as he directly faced said door) of the Commander's Office opened, revealing a tall, solid white form which walked slowly forward in even, calculated steps until the boy arrived, quite unintimadated, to the sole piece of furniture in the room, the desk, with Base Commander Ikari and his 'friend' (if you can call anyone a friend of Ikari), Vice Commander Fuyutski. 

"Commanders, sirs," Sterling began in a strong but somewhat submissive voice, "I am United States Navy Fleet Admiral Richard Alexander Sterling, here to summarily declare official delivery of Evangelion Unit-07, Assault Type, Custom Model with revised design schematics, from NERV 2nd. Division, Area 51, Nevada, United States to NERV 6th. Division, Tokyo-3, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, and to report myself for active duty as the designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-07, serving under NERV command, as listed in my orders, sirs." he quotes from memory as he lays a half inch thick bound packet on the Commander's desk in front of him. 

"Unit-07 arrived yesterday, why wasn't all this done then?" Began Vice Commander Fuyutski, " Also, The delivery included supplies, equipment, and additional weapons. Where are they?" 

"I believe I can answer both questions at once, sir." Ad. Sterling took a deep breath, "When the United States and SEELE met to discuss exactly HOW Unit-07 and its' additional supplies were to arrive here, They decided that the delivery would be made today at oh-seven-hundred hours, Tokyo-3 local time, not a second early or late, and that the delivery would be made by cargo haulers. With this, SEELE demanded that not one ship less than the entire Roosevelt Battlegroup be deployed as a guard; this was couple years back, when SEELE still thought terrorists would blow up just anything they could, mind you. 

"So, the cargo haulers left New Pearl Harbor perfectly on schedule, with the aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt in the vanguard position. Before they even made it to the Midway Shallows, one of the heavy cruisers, the USS Arizona II, had a total engine failure and the fleet had to stop, as their orders specifically stated that the convoy moved, or didn't move, as one. that was a little over 24 hours ago, Zulu time. I was in command of the convoy, so I ordered the hauler with Unit-07 onboard close to the USS Roosevelt, where it was unloaded onto the deck, and loaded onto a VTOL, which carried it here, and you know the story from there. Orders are orders, SEELE was VERY specific, and I'm not one to defy orders. 

"To answer the second question, I estimate the convoy is still two weeks out, as emergency repairs should have been completed three hours ago, and they won't push her, because she could go down for the count at any time, and we wouldn't like that, now would we, sir?" He paused with a faint smile, "As a footnote, stored in the same armored drop case as Unit-07, there was the only piece of long-range weaponry in the shipment, an Ion/Plasma Rifle of my own design. It should be found in the largest of the shards that came down." 

"I see... Very well, Pilot Sterling. I accept delivery of Evangelion Unit-07 and recognize your request for duty. For the time being, contact Major Katsuragi for your Standard Operating Procedures." Commander Ikari stated in his usual degrading tone, "Also, contact Dr. Akagi concerning tests and experiments that will involve you and to schedule recovery of your rifle. Dismissed." 

Yes, sir!" A crisp military about-face followed, and the same calculated steps that led the young officer into the office led him out, much to the great and, for the most part, well hidden suprise of all observing. 

"He has balls. A lot of balls. I don't think he'll back down to anyone. Even you, Gendo." Fuyutski observed. 

"Hm, yes. That is a blessing for now,... but may soon become a curse. Keep an eye on him, Fuyutski. And have Section 2 make a full report on him. I want to know everything I can about him. Everyone has a weak spot." 

"Plotting already, Gendo? I thought it was a little early in the morning for that. It'll be the end of you; all this conspiring and counter-conspiring. Eventually, you'll get caught in your own web." 

"Perhaps, but not before my plan has exceeded the point of no return. Believe me, Fuyutski, nothing will stop me. Nothing." Gendo vowed as he opened one of his desk drawers and looked at a picture. A picture he had told the whole world, even his own son, didn't exist.   
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NERV 6th Division HQ: Floor B-28 ^7:30 AM^ 

After a trip down to the pilot's locker room to get his preferred outfit on, Sterling exited the room looking like a shadow, in a dark black flannel shirt with shiny black buttons, dark black pants, and an ankle length cloak, black on the outside, with a deep fiery red on the inside, and proceeded to the first and easier destination of the two assigned him. Seeing the door shut and that it was a private office, he gave three quick knocks. 

"Come on in..." A voice could be heard faintly through the sound suppression. Sterling opened the door, and after a quick glance around, headed toward the sole occupant of the large office, oriented perpendicular to the door. 

"Dr. Akagi, I presume?" He said with a smirk. 

~chuckle~ "That's what it says on the door. And you, I presume, are our mysterious and currently very unpopular new EVA pilot." She came back with an equal smirk. 

"Yep. Name's Richard Alexander Sterling. Call me anything other than Alex, and I'll be very pissed at you. I was told by Commander Ikari that you're the supreme lord, or in your case, lady, of experimentation in these parts, and that I need to get some info on some important tests," Alex pulled his cloak up as he gently slid into the only uncluttered chair in the room, directly opposite Akagi and across the desk, " and as an added annoyance, there's a really big gun somewhere in this city with my name on it, and the good Commander told me to have you fish it out of whatever pit it buried itself in." He proceeded to reach behind him and pull a thick packet out of a hidden pocket there, " Plus, I was told to give these to you. (lays packet on desk) ~Sticker on packet reads 'EVA-07'~ Those are design schematics. Unit -07 doesn't adhere to the original plan very well, so you might one day want those. I'm just full of good news, aren't I?" 

"Yes, well... (grabs the packet and sticks it to the side on top of some other paperwork) To parry you, I don't really care what you call me most of the time. Dr. Akagi is somewhat formal but fine; Ritsuko is good; a couple of people even call me Ritsu." Ritsuko informed, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her eyes, "To fill you in, we have synchronization tests every other day after school at 5:00, with one tonight, and a basic physical every month. Special tests and any changes in this plan, and you'll be informed by somebody. I think that's about it, nothing special this week. We'll find your little toy out there and set it up for deployment." 

"Got it: Seventeen-hundred tonight for tests; Rifle ready for use at convenience. Thanks." Alex got up to leave. He made it to the door and as it slid open, Ritsuko stopped him, "I have a bit a question for you." 

"Oh, and that question would be?" 

"Why is it that when I tried to pull your records from the Marduk Institute's data banks, I came up with nothing more than a 404 error and a headache, hm?" Ritsu leaned forward slightly, harassing the boy a little _almost as entertaining as Misato..._> 

"Bad question." he replied simply 

"(perfect mock) Oh, and why's that?" Ritsu used the dreaded 'puppy eyes' that are every boyfriend's greatest fear. 

"Because it's a VERY long story in its' entirety." Alex moved back to his seat. 

"Give me the abstract instead of the encyclopedia, then." she took this opportunity to glance in her mug. She then proceeded to grab her half full glass and carry it over to the coffee machine, where a packet of paper cups sat, "Want some coffee? It's an excellent blend." 

"With me, coffee falls into the 'World's Nastiest' category, within which are such indigestables as Army food, and Japanese cheeseburgers." Sterling's stomach lurches at the memory of yesterday's excursion. 

"More for me, then." she noted, returning with her now to the brim mug full of black drink. 

"Here goes..." He began, spending the next hour first explaining the answer to her question, then the circumstances surrounding it, and the way things progressed from there. Finally he came to the end of his tale. 

"And I thought I asked for the short version?" Ritsuko still had a full mug in front of her (she'd had to get up and refill it twice as the story went on) and began solving that little problem. 

"The feture-length version would have taken us well into the afternoon" Sterling came back from a mildly parched throat. (despite his thirst, he still refused to drink any of the 'nasty black stuff') "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other business I must attend to today. I do thank you for your time, however." 

"I should be thanking you, but I've been around Ikari long enough to leave well enough alone." 

Once again, Sterling went for the door. As though cursed, the outside hallway triggered a near forgotten bit of memory, and he asked from the door jamb, "Oh, do you know where I can find Major Katsuragi?" 

Ritsuko looked up from the work she had returned to, "Misato? If she's not in her office, you'll probably won't find her until this afternoon at home or tonight at the sync tests. Okay?" 

"Roger that. Scrape any plan of meeting her for a good eight to ten hours. Over and out." Sterling walked out the ajar door and trotted towards the elevators a few doors down. 

"Strange kid... " Ritsu thought as she stared down at the new EVA's design schematics, "Very strange kid, but a lot better off than the others. God, I hope all this isn't the end of him ." 

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Tokyo-3 Central High School: Room 4-A ^8:12 AM^ 

Today was going just like any other of the calmer days at school. Shinji and Hikari were the only students actually paying any real attention to today's lecture on Second Impact. _Such a good little student,_> Asuka thought darkly, _a whole half a second away from becoming NERV's second toy soldier._> Contrary to the german pilots train of thought, Rei was completely ignoring the teacher, she was merely better at feigning attention than others. The rest of the class, at first glance, looked like the model of a good classroom. To the keen observer, however, notes, whispered conversations, and small objects could be seen bouncing around the room, along with the occasional death glare from Hikari (the Class Rep., therefore responsible for their actions) or Asuka (Hikari's best friend). Comparative peace and tranquility,... until... 

~Footfalls are heard, faint at first, but slowly getting louder. Sounds like a person that is trying neither to be loud nor quiet. The steps grow louder, and a shadow falls over the door.~ (Shinji, Asuka, Hikari, and Kensuke look over at the shadow) There is momentary pause as the shadow seems to move slightly, like an arm moving, then, ~swish~ the door opens. ( The teacher stops his lecture and looks over at the door) 

To those who watched this process, it looked for a second as though the shadow on the door had done nothing less than take solid form, until they noticed the young man's head sticking out of the top. (The vast majority of the class finally breaks away from their antics, realizing the teacher had stopped lecturing, and all expected to get a detention until they, too noticed the open door.) The newcomer's hazel green eyes looked the class over, momentarily hesitating when they came to the three EVA pilots hidden in the room. _That's that Hentai who attacked me this morning!!!!!!!_> As usual, Asuka refused to even think that SHE could be responsible for such events. Running a hand through his well combed sandy-brown hair, he stepped through the passage and walked up to the teacher's desk, laying a folder in front of him. "Richard Sterling. I'm a transfer student from America. Call me Alex, if possible." 

"From America, are you? Perhaps we should send you down to the middle school. It might meet up with your education thus far a little bit better." The teacher said with a bit of a smile. 

"Yes, I know. The good ol' U.S. of A. has about the worst educational system of any First World Country, but it was your, and by 'your' I mean Japanese, test scores that put me in high school. Good try, though. You would have had most poor old Americans." A great lopsided smile appeared on the lips of the new student. 

"Very well. Everything seems to be in order. Have a seat next to Ms. Ayanami." He instructed, pointing to about the only open seat in the class. As Alex moved towards it his cape billowed slightly, creating the illusion of much greater speed. While he sat down, his new instructor noted, "For the time being, your current attire is acceptable, but I expect to see you in a school uniform by the end of the month." 

"No problem." Sterling stretched out luxuriously in his rather small desk, his feet pushing hard against the legs of the desk in front of his, "Hey, do these desks come in extra large, or does 'one size fit all' around here?" his comment came too late, however, as his new teacher picked up exactly where he left off in his (mostly ignored) lecture.   
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Tokyo-3 Main Street ^3:37 PM^ 

Once again, Shinji and Asuka were walking home, and Shinji was only around the Hellbitch for the same reasons as before. However, instead of an Air Raid Siren going off, Asuka sensed someone was following them. She looked back and saw that that hentai Sterling coming up behind them, busily reading something. As he caught up with them, they discovered that it was, of all things they would have expected a high school student to be reading, a book titled, 'Advanced Theorems & Principles Of Cold Fusion'. Finally coming within a couple of feet of the Second Child, and showing no sign that he was aware of the outside world, Sterling stopped a moment before the backhand Asuka was preparing was to be released. 

Inserting a bookmark and closing it, he looked up and said, "Unlike you, I actually pay attention to my surroundings, Ms. Soryu." he mentioned with a strong tone of arrogance, a tone that died instantly as Alex pivoted slightly to look directly at the third member of the discussion, "And I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting, young Mr. Ikari. I assume you recall my name from class today. As I said, just call me Alex." 

"Uh, hi. So, you're then that new pilot. That makes you, what, the Fourth Child?" Shinji asked. 

"...(brief pause)... Not quite. If Dr. Akagi doesn't explain tonight, I will. But for now, lets just say my piloting days far outnumber yours, ~turns slightly to face Asuka~ and yours as well, although not by as much, in shear quantity." 

"Why are you walking this way, anyway? Why don't go back to whatever rock you came out from under?" Asuka demanded. 

"Hello!!! Does anything sink into that Aircraft Carrier Grade armor plate you call a skull? I was leaving my house when your unprovoked attack took place. ~makes a weird face~ DUH!!!!!" Sterling proceeded past the two beating them home by almost ten minutes.   
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NERV 6th Division HQ: Sync Test Chamber ^5:45PM^ 

*Okay, everybody. We're done here.* Dr. Akagi's voice came through the intercom, *Come on over when you're ready for the results. Good job to all of you, you all did very well.* 

"Thank God, I thought I was going to die of boredom in there." Asuka bitched, "You could at least let us watch a movie or listen to music or something." 

"For once, the Blind One and I share an opinion." Alex followed up, "I, if no one else, am going to be properly entertained next time around." 

"Fine, okay, I get the idea." Ritsuko gave in, " but in the meantime, here's the day's sync scores: Rei: 57%. Keep up the good work; Shinji: 63%. You need to try a little harder next time; Asuka: 76%. You're doing much better than projected; finally, Alex:..... 82%. How did you get this high a sync rate already?!" 

Alex took a deep breath, " If you didn't know already, I'll tell you. I've been designated as a potential EVA pilot since birth, and, as both my parents were in the military, the U.S. Government decided that they could slap a '1-A' sticker on my crib and cart me off to war against the Angels. So, ever since I could walk and talk, I've been trained by the military to, pardon the pun, 'be the best I can be'. My parents became my instructors and I became a war machine early on. Earlier than the existence of the Marduk Institute, and far older than NERV. ~turns to Shinji and Asuka~ To answer your question, Shinji, I would be defined as the Zeroth Child." 

"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard! How the hell can you be a 'Zeroth Child'?! 'Zeroth' isn't even a word!" Asuka went in for the kill 

"Yeah, Asuka been trained since childhood as well, and Rei's been a pilot as far back as I can remember and then some!" Misato piped in. 

"Yes, I'm well aware that 'Zeroth' is not a word, Asuka," Alex began without the slightest tone of sarcasm or superiority, but as one scholar would talk to another of equal place on a common subject, "However, it's the only way to describe the turn of events. 

"To address your question, Asuka, while taking your comment, Misato, into consideration should kill two birds with one stone... 

"Yes, According to the Marduk Institute, Rei is the First Child, Asuka the Second Child, and Shinji the Third, but what they into account when determining this is when the Child was originally screened by them for the job. The short and rather cold solution to all this is that I was never screened by the Marduk Institute, hence I would be the Zeroth Child because I don't exist on their records, but the story is a tid bit deeper then that. Yes, like Asuka, I began training as soon as they thought I stood a chance of understanding what they were telling me to do, but she began training as soon as she was designated as a Child and, hence, a pilot. That's why she's the Second Child, she was chosen as a pilot at five or six, while the First Child, Rei, is on record as being chosen at birth, as soon as the Birth Certificate was released so they could throw a name on the report instead of 'this fetus here'." 

"Thanks for the lesson on well known history. Now, what's your point?" Asuka asked, not following where this was going. 

"The basis upon which the U.S. military has maintained its' supremacy for the last few decades is simple: "make sure we have newer, stronger, and/or bigger gun before anyone else even thinks of it.'. To this end, as soon as SEELE began offering up EVA construction design plans, the U.S. military jumped on it, and as soon as they heard about SEELE, its' plans for the Evangelions, and its' need for pilots with particular 'characteristics', they jumped on the first one available, a four and a half month old embryo implanted in an Army Lt. Commander. An embryo that later became me. 

"That little tidbit raises a dilemma that you can use as you see fit. I was selected as a pilot long before any of you, but the number of days, months, and years spent training me is greater than only one of you and far less then the others. I could be the true First Child, if you base in on when we were designated as pilots, or the actual Second Child if you base it on when we became independent life that was an EVA pilot as Rei is about 18 hours older than I am. It's a lot easier for all involved, I think, if we just leave things as they were." Sterling held his breath a moment as he finished, then slowly let it out in a calming ~whoosh~ sound. 

"So that's the encyclopedia version? I thought that was to be a long and drearing lecture." Ritsuko stabbed. 

~quiet chuckle~ "You have a point. This was the, um, 'Pocket Dictionary of Useless Knowledge article' version." Sterling quickly stumbled out. 

"A fast comeback to everything, eh?" Ritsu use one of those 'Yeah, uh-huh, sure....' looks. A shrug is her only response. 

Katsuragi finally re-enters the active world after making sense of 'story time', "Well, it's mega late. Um......, Alex,..... would you like to..., say, have dinner with us? It would be like a welcoming feast for your first day working with us at NERV!" 

"Not a bad idea..." Alex agreed, "I never pass up a good meal I neither have to make nor clean up after. But I have to know; Misato, is your cooking as bad as two out of three Children say it is?" 

"YES!" The Second and Third Child responded in unison. 

"A risk I shall have to take. Lead on, fair lady."   
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Apartment #626 Tokyo-3, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan ^8:30PM^ 

"Dinner's almost ready," Shinji called from the dining room/kitchen, "Tell Misato to hurry up." 

The first three occupants of the bellored-at living room were greatly amused by the last half of that comment. Asuka and Alex went into silent fits of laughter, Asuka's from experience and the irony of the situation; Alex from the assumption of how things normally are (and recognizing the resulting irony), while Ritsuko just smiled, looked down, and chuckled a bit to herself. The fourth occupant, Misato herself (on time for a change), was no so amused. She called back with the sweetest voice humanly possible, "Oh, but I'm already waiting," She dropped from open sarcasm to an angry yell, "as I have been for the LAST FIVE MINUTES!" 

"Okay, sorry..." A weak sound came out of the other room, "when you're ready, dinner is." 

The four people in the living room joined the fifth already in the dining room, resulting in a rather unbalance place setting, Ritsuko and Misato on one side, Shinji and Asuka on either end, and, as though a criminal awaiting sentencing, Alex on the opposite side. As they came to the end of the meal, with the fast eaters politely waiting for the slower ones to catch up, Sterling said in a low but slightly offended tone, "Excellent psychological ploy. Starting to work, too..." 

"What?" Asuka almost innocently called from her end. 

"Just commenting on the... unique arrangement, that's all." He quickly responded in a bright and unusually cheerful tone. 

"No one can ever accuse you of having nothing to say, can they?" Ritsuko questioned from behind a cup of steaming tea. 

"No, they can't. That quick-wittedness, my arrogance, and my smartass, 'I am God, hear me roar' attitude are part of a once important and useful but now unnecessary and uncontrollable emotional self-defense mechanism." he answered without a change one in tone. 

"How could being that annoying ever have been useful?" Misato truly wondered now just how in the world this kid became a pilot. 

"Simple answer, lots of background. As you'd expect, as the U.S. military's pride and joy, they kept close tabs on me and tried to see to my assorted needs, including... companionship, to an extent." Alex said with a slight smile and blush at the end. 

"So what," Katsuragi leaned forward, halfway across the table towards Alex, "they gave you a girlfriend or something?" She gave him one of her devilish little grins. 

"Um, no." Alex leaned forward, virtually eliminating the distance between them. He matched her in appearance with a patented 'you're acting like a twelve year old girl on a sugar rush' look, "But like in any other country, the easiest way to hook people on a story is to add the hint of an element of sex or violence, so listen well, all ye who hast fallen into thyne web of entrapment." He finished with a bit of a lopsided smile and a wink 

"At five, I was, or at least I felt I was, betrayed by my own parents. This one girl on base, whom I later learned was Lt. Sorenson, had pretty much become my only friend, right, and we spend time hanging out while she's taking care of her duties and all, and I was coming home from one of these little trips, and I run into my mom. She, of course, wonders what I'm doing out and about by myself, and I tell her the tale as it was. I was five years old, I didn't know my mom was gonna' go hyper ballistic, drag me home, explain it to my dad, and turn Sorenson's life to total shit." Alex's voice drops to a low, growling pitch, "So that's background info number one: Parent's betrayal of first friend. Background info number two: People are hired on to become my friend. 

"You see, after the Sorenson incident, I fell into something of a depression, and that, the powers that be decided, was unacceptable. So, their simple solution to a simple problem was to relocate two or three other military families with kids my age and close to my ability level to our little base, stick us in the same class, and expect us to hit off. I was very distrusting at first, but over the course of six months, I joined up with them. We became like a little clan all our own, terrorizing the citizenry. Things go on like like this for a couple years, then about... two years later, on the day before my birthday, for that matter, I was talking on the phone with Rick, and he puts me on hold but doesn't hit the hold button, he just lays the phone on the table and walks over to wherever to talk to his dad about something. At first I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I remember overhearing something like this: 

'Well, son, his parents have got it all planned out. The party at his house from oh-seven-hundred to ten-hundred, then that new Six Flags place on the other end of town.' 

'Why would I want to go there? The park is stupid and the company would be unbearable. It's not like I like it here. I hate everyone here. Why can't we just go back to California. At least there, we had a beach, instead of this military prison hell.' 

'You're going. That's an order, trooper. Believe it or not, you're doing your country a great service.' 

'Yeah, right. Putting up with that kid should earn me a medal. I mean, he is so boring. Nothing fun is allowed to happen near him.' 

'I don't care. You have your orders. Carry them out. Dismissed.' 

'Yes, sir, Captain, sir.' 

"Needless to say, I hung up at this point. After a bit of consideration and thought, or al least as close as a seven year old gets to consideration and thought, I kinda' ran a way for a while. That's the story of most of my self-induced condition. A method to prevent further emotional pain. If I have no close friends, then I don't have to worry about being hurt emotionally. Cruel but effective." The air around Alex suddenly became very gloomy and depressed, "And I'll leave it at that because background info number three is not the type of thing it's polite to discuss over any food or drink, save maybe hard liquor." 

"Hey, I won't pry. What you've already told us sheds some new light on you." Katsuragi fell into thought between sips of her beer can. 

"In reality, by saying you won't pry, you actually are, but I'll let that slide." Sterling swallows and takes a deep breath, "Let's just say, for now, that I didn't stay the beloved child of two proud parents much longer." The statement was finished with one of the classic 'don't even think about it' looks (not glares, looks). 

Now Katsuragi was REALLY wondering, "Good enough, I guess." 

"Shall we be off to bed? It's almost twenty-two-hundred and, contrary to popular belief, I, too, need sleep." 

"Good night, then. See you in the morning for school?" Katsuragi yawned as she stretched in her seat. 

"Yep. I hope everyone ~slight glance at Asuka~ will be seeing ~noticable glance at Asuka~ everyone ~meaner, direct glance at Asuka~ tomarrow. 'Night, all."   
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Apartment #627 Tokyo-3, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan ^10:06PM^ 

Sterling was laying on his bed, staring up at the inky blackness of his bedroom ceiling, a shift in colors every time a car drove by, creating the illusion of great monsters below. _Nice enough people._> he thought, _More than easy to get along with. Ironic, isn't it, dumbass? The very things you did to prevent emotional pain are now causing you more than you could ever imagine._> he laughs to himself, at himself, for a moment _Such is life. Have to start fixing it in the morning. Just like everything else in your life. Fix it in the morning. For now, Dumbass, just pray to whichever deity won the coin toss this week that dream doesn't come back._> He tossed his covers back over himself and passed off into the realm of sleep. 

But the dream returned. The same dream that had haunted him since that forsaken day. The dream that had only left the first time he heard of his transfer to Japan; since hearing of the other countries' EVA pilots; since meeting... her...   
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Next Chapter (yes, there will BE a next chapter): On or about the First of May 


	3. Chapter 3: Charge of the (Not So) Light ...

**_Neon Genesis Evangelion:_**   
**_The Zeroth Child's Saga_**   
**_Chapter 3: Charge of the (Not So) Light Brigade_**

Author's Notes:   
1. I in no way what-so-ever lay any claim to Neon Genesis Evangelion or it's contents. All I lay claim to is the characters and plot that I develop for this fic that isn't part of the manga or series.   
2. This is my first attempt at a fic, so PLEASE minimize flames, although any useful criticism is gratefully accepted. ~_~"   
3. **_I will mutate parts of the story line to suit my purposes (such as Major Katsuragi already being the Director of Operations and the presence of all three Children and EVA's during the 3rd Angel's attack) But I will do my best to stay in character, with occasional, unavoidable, and plot serving 'transgressions'._** (A clue-in concerning a lot of my flames)   
4. ~things appearing like this represent things the characters see, smell, touch, hear, or taste that can't be slid easily into the story any other way.~   
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**_ ...the first time he heard of his transfer to Japan; since hearing of the other countries' EVA pilots; since meeting... her..._**   
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Apartment #627 Tokyo-3, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan ^5:12AM^ 

_Huh?_> Alex slowly came back to the conscious world. He sat up in his bed, only to feel a wave of exaustion wash over him. _Didn't sleep a wink. Not peacefully, anyway._> He tried to blink back his headache and waited for his eyes to focus. This accomplished, the young man got up and wandered down to his now well stocked kitchen, pulled out a Pepsi and chugged it down in short order while pulling out a small pan, a pack of eggs, a loaf of bread, and a jar of mayonaise. He proceeded to cook himself a pair of egg sandwiches (his parents hadn't left him without any urban survival skills), and then went back to his room to wash up and get dressed. He returned to his living room wearing what appeared to be the same clothes as the day before, but upon further examination, were in fact an identical set (of which he had ten complete ones hanging in his closet). 

After making sure all was right, both in his home and in his attire, he walked out the Door of Doom, looking both ways to ensure that the previous day's events wouldn't repeat themselves. Finding the way clear, he stepped out and walked down to the apartment with Misato's nameplate on it and stepped to the side, out of sight, and leaned against the wall there. Following the sound of a couple of crashes, the front door opened, and Asuka launched out, quickly followed by Shinji. As they reached the elevator, they looked back, wondering why they hadn't seen or had to dodge anyone. Finally, Shinji spotted the face in the darkness, "Alex! What are you doing over there?" 

"Waiting in a safe area, watching, learning, and analyzing." He cryptically stated as he paced down to join them in front of the elevators, "Finding out if I need to be ready to dodge her everyday or just on occaision." 

"You don't have to be a jerk about it," Asuka began haughtly, but her tone softened slightly, "You got the best part of that deal anyway." 

"An irrelevant point..., but a point none the less." Alex fell into his 'quoting some book out there' tone, "And you know, you seem a lot... nicer this morning. Any reason why, or just pot luck?' 

"~embarrased giggle~ Something about a sunrise just... refreshes me most of the time... in a way nothing else can. It's just... such a peaceful scene... like a treasure that can never be taken away." Asuka's face took on a dreamy air for a moment, but instantly she snapped back to reality as the elevator doors opened and the three children boarded the lift and descended to the ground floor, from which they carried out the standard dead rush to school...   
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Tokyo-3 Central High School: Room 4-A ^5:57 AM^ 

One right after the other, the three EVA pilots rushed into class, each collapsing in their respective desks: Asuka first and with some amount of dignity; Shinji next, panting slightly, and finally a very spent Alex. Rei looked up slightly as Alex sat down, her penetrating red eyes taking in every detail of the classroom behind him as well as the rather tired foreground. Quickly losing interest, she returned to her book on Calculus (her class work, as she doesn't need to know anymore about Second Impact). 

"What's the matter?" Asuka asked cheerfully, "A little winded?" 

"I *pant* don't *pant* run *weeze* worth *huff* a damn. *puff* I swim. *weeze* *pant* I *pant* don't chase things, *puff* I drop 'em *puff* at a hundred yards." Alex gave Asuka a now patented 'Death Glare'. At the same time, however, the teacher arrived. As he walked in, Hikari stood up and performed the expected, "Stand, bow, sit down." routine. 

"Let's see..." he mumbled to himself, then in a much louder voice, "Ayanami? Rei Ayanami?" 

"Hai," was Rei's only response; she didn't even look up from her book. 

The teacher had a look on his face akin to terror upon hearing a response to THAT name. He rushed through the rest of the list, luckly saved any more suprises. "Open your laptops and prepare to take notes on today's lecture on Second Impact. (it is important to note that the class would have groaned in agony at the thought of another lecture on Second Impact, but after a few months, you learn to tune out such unwanted [non] news.) There will be a test at the end of the month on this material." Since everyone had already begun whatever it was they were going to do that day, few people acctually heard anything about a test.   
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Tokyo-3 Central High School: Rooftop ^12:03 PM^ 

After many boring hours of hacking into the school data net and 'exploring' a little, Alex quickly grew bored of finding out who was gleefully checking out porn on their terminals, ignorant of peering electronic eyes watching them from within, and sending anonymous 'suggestions' to Kensuke concerning his illegal access of the U.S. Missile Defense System. Thankfully, before he could get into any trouble of his own, the long awaited lunch bell rang. 

Having remembered to pack a lunch, the young man proceeded up to the top of the school building, which was rumored to have an excellent view of the city. Once getting up there and taking a look around, Alex concluded that the rumors were true. He sat down with his legs hanging off the side of the building, admiring said view, as he withdrew one half of the two sandwiches he'd packed and began to munch on it absent-mindedly. In relative no time, Sterling noticed three shadows approaching from behind. He finished the half a sandwich he was eating and turned around to greet the owners of said shadows, finding them to belong to a group commonly referred to on campus as 'The Three Stooges'. 

As they approached, Shinji in the point position, with Kensuke and Touji on either side of him, Touji opened up, "Like, are all you EVA pilots a bunch of weaklings?" He sneered slightly. 

"In an effort to stick to my new 'public acceptability' policy, I will refrain from comment." Alex once again used his patented 'Death Glare', but to no avail. 

"Attitude problems seem to be common in all EVA pilots, too." Touji half-heartedly laughed to himself. In the meantime, Shinji just sank into a bit of a depression as he listened to his friend insult not only Alex but Shinji himself as well. 

"That was kinda' cold, Touji. You could be a little nicer." Shinji commented. 

"Why should I? My sister got hurt really badly in that battle, and it was by HIS fucking robot. If anything, I should be beating the shit outta' him right now, not trying to be his friend!" Touji bellowed in a raging fury. 

Alex got up from his position and came to stand directly in front of Touji, "I can understand how you feel. Justice, or your version of it, must be done if there is to be any peace between you and I. I give you something I've never given anyone before. One free shot, anywhere but the groin." He straightened up to his full height and put his hands behind his back. 

"..." Touji simply started cracking his knuckles and advancing slightly towards Alex. 

"May I recommend the stomach," the exposed Sterling said in his usual cheerful voice, "It's the least protected of the 'high pain zones' and risks the least collateral damage." Touji finally came within his punching range. 

Alex stumbled slightly from pretty much the most powerful gut punch he'd felt in a long time. Although all it really did was provide a minor fluttering feeling, he faked much greater pain by dropping to one knee and wheezing the next breath. When he tried to slowly get up, however, he received a high power fist across his temple, bringing him to the ground and disorienting him for a split second before he leapt up, dodging a kick aimed at his previously laying form. As soon as he recentered himself, he faked a little stumbling to his right, as though he had momentarily lost his balance. "I said one free hit, not two and a missed one." he wheezed out, glaring unsteadily at the aggressor. 

The only response his got was an echoing battle cry and a sneakered foot upside the head. Actually losing his balance this time, Alex fell to the water resistant coating on the roof. Shinji, realizing that this was going too far, tried to step in in his own, 'special' way. As soon as his hand touched Touji's arm, a roundhouse punch knocked Shinji back a good ten feet, falling and staying down; a large red spot swelling on his face where he had near acquired a broken jaw. On impact, he rolled and came up in an defensive stance. As Touji attempted another head kick, Alex rotated out of it's path and to the side. As Touji tried to recover, his opponent grabbed his leg and twisted at the foot. To save himself from a broken leg, Touji was forced to roll with it, falling to the ground. Alex fell back to his previous defensive position as Touji got back up, more pissed than ever at his humiliation. 

"DIE YOU BASTARD!!!!!" Touji bellowed at the universe in general as he rushed his torturer, his highly athletic build providing excellent speed, easily closing the distance between the two combatants. Upon arrival, He dealt out another of his gut punches, this one, however, was blocked with ease. This block also opened Alex to a new move Touji had learned but told not to use outside of 'life or death' situations. Bringing his hand back into a palm heel, Touji threw it forward with all of his considerable strength towards Alex's nose, to finish this once and for all. 

As soon as he saw the hand drop back, the only speech-based thought that ran through Alex's mind was _Holy shit! This fucker's tryin' to kill my ass!_>. He immediately took a step back to widen and hopefully throw off Touji's aim. No such luck. In the last possible moment, in an attempt to save his life, Alex tilted his head down as much as possible, which left him with a badly broken nose instead of having said nose firmly mounted in his brain. As he fell to the ground from the lightning-white flash of pain, Touji side kicked him in the head, finishing the fall Alex had in progress. Finally and with great flourish, Touji kicked Alex over on to his back, kneeled down, and slammed his right hand's set of knuckles down as hard as he could into Alex's ribcage, all but guaranteeing internal injuries. 

Alex's vision lost focus as his chest seemed to erupt into unbelievable new realms of pain. Knowing that he was in no condition to fight back, Sterling quickly curled himself into a ball and rolled onto his side, instantly struck by a coughing fit; a coughing fit that left his hands and the ground around him coated in blood. When he had finally recovered enough willpower to force the pain out of his mind, he was left with the image of Touji staring in complete horror at the sight before him, the bleeding and finally broken opponent, looking up from his feet, all but voicing his surrender. Touji couldn't bring himself to bear the sight anymore, so to avoid further 'difficulties' (not to mention disciplinary action, for the moment), he turned on his heel and half jogged, half ran away, picking up Kensuke on his way to the access ladder. Apparently, the fight had been loud enough for people on the ground to hear, for the two rather shaken schoolboys had hardly cleared the last rung before they saw the Class Rep. coming forward, with Asuka and, of all people, the teacher in tow. Knowing how this would all play out..., and how this school tolerates fights, the two newest members of the Endangered Species List quickly hid out in a conveniently unlocked classroom until the entourage had passed, and proceeded to sneak out behind it as Hikari's group continued up the ladder to discover the cause of all the commotion. 

At this clearing of the battlefield, Shinji comes back into play, rushing over to find out how badly Alex was hurt. At the sight of the rather large puddle of blood, Shinji panicked and turned to run, but found a trio coming towards him already. Trying to make the most of the situation, Shinji turns back around to see what he can do, only to find the fallen child raising his hand up, asking Shinji to help him up. This surprised him considerably. Admittedly, Shinji didn't know much about medicine or injuries, but he saw the beating Sterling had taken and didn't think he should even be conscious right now, much less eager to move. He was spared further contemplation, however, by the three new arrivals' intervention. 

"Oh, my God! Are you all right?" Hikari was the first to construct a coherent sentence after witnessing the scene before them, "Who did this?" She sees the only other occupant of the roof at the time of their arrival, "SHINJI?!?!" 

"He hasn't got the spine to stand up for himself, much less fight somebody, do you, O Wimpy One?" Asuka less then politely acquitted the accused. 

"Then who did, Mister Sterling?" The teacher asked the now standing, though unstable, victim. 

"Not *weeze* in the mood *weeze* to talk *weeze* right now." was Alex's only reply to him as the injured young man started stumbling past the onlookers and towards the ladder. 

"Let me help you. Please" Shinji slid an arm around his right (uninjured) side and supported him as they moved onward, the other visitors came up behind and paced them as they went along. When they finally arrived, Hikari asked, "How are we going to get you down? With injuries like yours, we shouldn't even have moved you period. You definitely can't... climb.... down..... a...... ladder." her sentence died out as Sterling cautiously threw a leg over, found a rung and started down, closely followed by Shinji and the others. 

Shinji returned to his support position as Alex waved off the others, "I will, *weeze* unfortunately, *weeze* live, *weeze* so you can go do *weeze* whatever you need to do *weeze* to make your rules and regs *weeze* about this happy. *weeze* Shinji here can *weeze* help me limp *weeze* to the hopefully awaiting *weeze* ambulance." The ladies took this as their cue to bail, Asuka to return to lunch (she had no responsibilities for this sort of thing) and Hikari to the Principals Office (she DID have responsibilities for this sort of thing, as people from her class are involved), but the master of room 4-A remained for a moment. 

"Are you sure you're in good enough condition for this? You could just wait here for the EMTs." he asked with concern. 

"Like I said, *weeze* I'll live, *weeze* unfortunately." 

"Alright. I'll have your classwork for the rest of the week sent to you. Be careful." At this, the instructor left to parts unknown. 

As soon as the teacher had made the first corner, Alex slid out from Shinji's grip and stretched up, quickly having to cough up more blood. 

"Alex! What are you doing?!" Shinji exclaimed as Alex started walking off on his own. 

"I'm about one-forth as hurt as I wanted Touji to think I was. Yes, the nose is real and the headache is DEFINITELY real, but the most internal damage I suffered would be a bruised rib. and a bit tongue." He added as he winced slightly. 

"But... but... all the blood." 

"Get... auhda... ma... mout..." Alex stumbled out as his tongue was too busy with something in his mouth to talk. What it was doing was discovered as Alex spat up a little more blood into his hand, then removed something out of the puddle. 

It was a small piece of chewed plastic, clear with specks of red on it. "Blood tabs. Looks like blood, feels like blood, tastes nothing like blood, costs about a buck for twenty at any grocery and department store around Halloween. Very effective in making people think you're in worse condition than you are. Only about one eighth of this is actually my blood." he said with a smile, "I want Touji to think I'm in a condition similar to his sister's. It will make his 'macho man' ego about his sister feel better that his sibling and her attacker are in the same boat. There's a method to my madness." A wink followed his last statement. 

Shinji, not entirely understanding why someone would want to look hurt, fell back on his S.O.P. (Standard Operating Procedures), "Sorry." he mumbled as he fell into 'submissive mode'. 

"About what? I tried damn hard to do the most realistic fake out ever. Hell, for a second or two, I fooled myself." Sterling admitted, "So what do you have to be sorry about? Be sorry for things you fuck up or things that you have control over that fuck themselves up. Don't be sorry for things beyond your control. Like me." Alex released one of his irresistible smiles, that lopsided type of smile that will instantly win over anyone on Earth, as he wrapped an arm around Shinji's shoulder, successfully hiding the partial shift in weight onto him as a friendly embrace. 

Shinji just shrugged, "I guess it's like a reflex. Sorry..." he tried to say as finally he, too, received a 'Death Glare' 

"What, pray tell, did I JUST say to you, hm?" Alex struggled out. 

"Oh, yeah... ~fearful laugh~ Sorry. Oops..." Shinji backed away slightly at the less than nice look he was getting from his classmate. 

"You have a death wish, don't you, young Ikari? Once injured, I, like a goodly portion of the remaining population of the planet, have a low tolerance for much of anything. I may have faked severe injuries, but I am injured none the less." A rather bloodthirsty grin found his lips, "Get the picture? And if I hear anything that sounds remotely like 'sorry', I will rip your head off and beat you to death with your spinal column." 

"Um, if you rip my head off, I'll already be dead." Shinji came back fearfully. 

"It's descriptive imagery. Helps to get the point across. I assume it succeeded?" 

"Yes." Shinji nodded very vigorously. 

"Good. Now, where's my ambulance?" Alex questioned as he sat down in front of the Administrative Building in the Quad.   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
NERV Hospital: Room 104 ^1:07 PM^ 

"Well, nothing appears to be broken except for the nose, which is something of a surprise, considering what you and your friend there said about this fight. Any reason behind it, or just luck?" The doctor asked as he returned to the bed his young patient had been assigned. 

"In the immortal words of an animated Third Grader," Alex began in a normal voice, but shifted to a more childish, nasal tone, "'I'm not fat. I'm big boned.'" 

"That does appear to be the case. However, that rib is very badly bruised, and I'm not sure there isn't a hairline fracture. So, I'm going to have a brace put on it and give you a shot for the pain, if you need it. The brace will partially immobilize you: you won't be able to bend forward or backward, okay?" The doctor left for a moment and returned with a black support brace and a hypodermic needle with a bottle of some liquid. The former was wrapped around Alex's chest and formed a viciously uncomfortable fit, but was just tight enough. The latter turned out to be the Holy Grail of painkillers: Morphine. As soon as the clear drug was released into his vein, he felt NO pain.   
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
NERV Hospital: Room 104 ^6:45 PM^ 

Due to the lack of the two most effective non chemical anti sleep conditions, pain and important things to do, Alex slipped out of consciousness and slept through most of his morphine trip. He woke to the sound of voices around him, but the rush of pain in his chest attracted most of his attention. He did however make out what was happening. 

"What happened?" A firm and slightly loud female voice was heard asking on his left. 

"He and Touji got into a fight. I tried to do something, but Touji just knocked me away." A quiet and rather weak voice was heard from a boy on the opposite side 

"If nothing else, he's a good runner. Why didn't he just escape and run away? He could take lessons from you, ya' know." A more childish and feminine voice followed from the right side as well. 

"..." no response was heard from that side, but the other answered, "Asuka, he is a military officer. He must have some hand to hand combat training. He could have fought back. He didn't. Why?" 

"He... he said something about making peace with Touji because of what happened in the last battle and his sister getting hurt." 

"What? So Touji was exacting revenge, and Alex just let him?" 

"Precisely, my dear Ms. Watson" the thought to be asleep occupant of the bed answered as he opened his eyes and made the grave error of adjusting his position in said bed, sparking a series of painful shots back and forth across his chest. 

Misato looked down at him, "Dare I ask how long you've been eavesdropping?" 

"Hey: don't want me eavesdropping, don't have conversations in my hospital room. To answer your question, most of this little chat." he put his hands behind his head in a position of supreme comfort and ease. 

"Any explanation of what happened on that rooftop? And why didn't Section Two intervene?" 

"Peacekeeping mission. To answer the other half, let's just say that the Agents and I came to an agreement (*)." 

"How is getting your ass kicked by someone a 'peacekeeping mission'?" 

"Misato, sometimes you have to swallow your pride and spit some blood to keep things from falling apart and to pick up potential allies. Note that I refuse to believe that a healthy, good looking woman such as yourself is unfamiliar with the basics of swallowing and spitting, when the need demands." Alex chuckled slightly as he watched Misato go into 'ballistic, highly flustered' mode. 

"What gives you the right to speak to me like that, hm? I'm your elder AND your immediate superior!" 

"God, don't Code Blue on me. Listen, every time I meet someone for the first time, they start at a neutral zone, and their actions raise or lower them on a set of 'value' scales. While you are overall in the upper levels on my personality ratings, you have the off duty mentality of a grown up teenager. Hence, off duty, I treat you like one." the 'blatantly obvious fact' tone of voice strikes again. Luckily, Misato went back to normal operating levels. 

"Try to show a little more respect, okay? Normally, I would have slapped you half to death and sent waves of Section Two Agents after you." 

"So it is spoken and so shall it be done." 

Misato just stared at him for a moment, then, "How do you do that?" she asked. 

"How do I do what?" 

"One minute I want to kill you, and the next I want to hug you. You go back and forth from my worst enemy to my best friend in a split second." 

"Yeah," Asuka began, "The first time I met you, I wanted you castrated, and after one intelligent conversation, I find myself almost ready to tolerate you." 

"Well, that's what two semesters of Psychology at Nevada State University does for you. Makes it really easy to mess with people's minds." 

"So, " Misato quickly tried to change the subject, "when do you get out of here?" 

"When the doctor releases me later tonight, or as soon as I get bored. Whichever comes first." the 'Irresistible Smile' was once again put into use. 

"No respect for hospitals either?" 

"They serve their purposes. The problem is that their purposes and my purposes rarely coincide. And so, I go my way as soon as I need to, whether they like it or not." Alex fell back into a more serious tone, "You can bail, if you want. Unfortunately for you all, I'm in no great danger of dying. In fact, if you'll have me, stop by your house for dinner." 

"No problem." Misato signaled to Shinji and Asuka and started towards the door. Along the way, Asuka stopped by the doorway and called back into the room, "Oh, and for your peace of mind, Shinji's cooking tonight." 

"Oh, thank God! I had doubts on my abilities to properly eat curry 'sludge' two nights in a row."   
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
Apartment #627 Tokyo-3, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan ^8:45PM^ 

"Well," Alex started as he replaced his cup of tea on the table, "the good doctor was kind enough to give me some heavy duty pain pills and threatened to have me duct taped into submission if I don't wear the brace. Which, I might add, is the most uncomfortable thing ever know to the whole of Mankind." He rambled to a close. 

"Sounds pretty rough." Misato commented as she took another bite of rice, "So, you'll be going back to school tomorrow, right? I mean nothing important was messed up." 

"I wanted to talk to you about that. If you can, I would like to have me put out of commission for the next couple of weeks. Since part of this whole charade was that I was semi seriously injured, too injured to come back to school the very next day. I was hoping you could call it in to the hospital to just assign me a bed number and pretend I'm there, and have Ritsu pull me from the active combat roster for the same period. If something happens, I'm there in a flash, but everything appears real on the surface." 

"..." Misato stared him down (or tried to) for a moment, then responded, "I'll see about doing what I can." 

"Then I owe ya one." 

A cat-like grin spread across her face, "In return for this minor misuse of my position and influence, you'll have to be my slave for a day of my choosing." the grin on her face spread as she watched the words sink in on the young man. 

"Hm," Alex's face took on an almost concerned look, "I take it the word 'pedophile' and its' definition never really sunk in with you, did it?" 

"NO! That's disgusting!" Misato sap up the sip of beer in her mouth. Once she had marginally recovered from the shock, she continued, "I just wanted you to be on call to baby-sit these two. You may not be any older than they are, but beyond your perverted smart ass nature, you appear to be trustworthy." 

After witnessing her reaction to his comment, it took Alex a full minute to stop rolling on the floor laughing and restore his composure enough to respond, "True. I'm the most trustworthy perverted smart ass in this room. ~laughs~ The fact that I'm the ONLY perverted smart ass in this room is of no great consequence. ~more laughing~" Another composure-restoring moment is taken, "Really, though, no prob. I think I can keep those two off each other, one way or the other, and I don't find threeways overly interesting. I can hold down the proverbial fort; the question is whether THEY will survive my tactics." A single raise of the eyebrows hinted that he was joking, although all other characteristics were completely serious. 

"Uh-huh.... well, that's good. What's your number, so I can call you?" 

"Misato, did my earlier comment concerning your knowledge of the word 'pedophile' escape you?" Misato took on a look so evil that Shinji and Asuka backed away from the table in fear of being hit by debris or, far worse, falling prey to her wraith. Thankfully, the look weakened to a dark glare by the time Alex finished the other half of his statement, "Nah, just kiddin'. Relax, I know you're smarter than that. It's 587-2304. That's the cell number to the phone NERV gave me. 

"Well, anyway, I better get back to that hospital. School might send the Class Rep. or worse after me tomorrow. 'Night to all and see ya' tomorrow" 

"I'll talk to Ritsuko in the morning. Goodnight." Misato, with a slight smile, called towards the retreating figure. 

"See you tomarrow!" Shinji called in his almost inaudible 'nervous' voice. 

~humf~"Whatever, newbie." Asuka mumbled in the general direction of the door as she got up and went to her room.   
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Tokyo-3 Central High School: Room 4-A ^5:48 AM^ (three weeks later) 

The ruse had gone over well. As far as anyone outside of the primary bridge crew was concerned, Alex had spent the last three weeks in the hospital with broken ribs and a collapsed lung. As expected, Hikari did stop by his room late the next day to see how he was doing and deliver his laptop and the lesson plans for the week. She tried to inquire as to who the responsible party was, but she turned out to be very easy to lead astray of the original point. 

Shortly after she had left, the young pilot hopped up out of his bed and began the short walk to NERV HQ, intentionally avoiding the direct route and staying on the path less taken as much as possible. Once he arrived there, everything was business as usual. Sync test, report, dinner at Katsuragi's, and the long walk back to that hospital bed. That's the way it was for three long weeks. Pretend to be badly hurt all day, take a brief rest for four or five hours, then back to pretending. 

Finally, there was no way to justify his continued stay, and so that Monday, Alex once again joined Shinji and Asuka in their dead rush to school. However, they met at the half way point. Alex had left earlier than usual to ensure he wouldn't break a sweat getting there. He wasn't supposed to be breathing very well, after all. Arriving about three minutes after the Second and Third, Alex slowly moved to his seat and sat down. As soon as his butt hit the above stated seat, two of the Three Stooges came over and sat on two unoccupied desks in front of him. 

"Come on, Touji. You said you would." Kensuke called at the black haired boy still firmly implanted in his seat. 

"... Right..." Touji slowly got up from his desk and moved back to stand directly in front of his former victim. "It goes something like this: I'm not sorry for beating the shit outta' ya'. In fact, I'm damn proud of the fact. ~a pride filled smile spreads across his lips, but quickly faded as he went on~ What I am sorry about is beating your ass as bad as I did. I meant to bust you up, but not to put you in the hospital. I just kind of... lost control, ya' know?" A somewhat goofy smirk appeared and his features softened slightly, "Let's call it even, okay? What happened to you for what happened to my sis. Deal?" he held his hand out. 

"Allow me to assure you," Alex reached out and shook the other boy's powerful arm, "that there is more than one person in America who can attest to the fact that I have, at times... 'lost control' myself. It's nice to know there's no hard feelings on your part." 

"What do you mean, 'on my part'?" Touji asked, subconsciously breaking the handshake and backing up a step. 

"Relax, God..." a smart ass half a smile found on Alex's features, "If I wanted to hit you, you'd be on the floor wondering what day it was. There's none here to begin with. Now, to keep the Class Rep. from tagging this whole little 'disturbance' on you, may I recommend you bail for your seat." Alex quickly sank into his seat, making it look like he was in a fair bit of discomfort, just in time for Hikari to come through the door and head towards her own place next to Asuka. 

In short order, the instructor arrived and S.O.P. took over. Everyone fell into their own routines. The teacher went to 'boring lecture' mode, most of the students went to 'lecture? What lecture?' mode, with the obvious exceptions. Touji was busily hunting down a Escaflowne video clip on the internet (He'd never openly admit to watching such an 'unmasculine' series, but the plot was just soooo good!), when an instant message popped up on his screen:   
=====================================================================================   
Mr. T; 

You owe me one for this morning, and now you owe me another. http://www.eternalanimeonline.com/clips/esca-j.htm (+) 

Enjoy,   
The Admiral   
=====================================================================================   
Touji smiled as he pasted the link into his browser. As the page was loading, he responded:   
=====================================================================================   
Alex; 

Thanks, but how did you know?   
=====================================================================================   
=====================================================================================   
I wander around, monitoring most of the class. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff people in this room are doing. 0_0"   
I have an... appreciation for that particular series as well. So I figured I would share the wealth.   
=====================================================================================   
The first part of the response caught him by surprise. Touji started to write a reply when an unexpected and unwanted arrival took place on both their screens:   
=====================================================================================   
Cut this out and pay attention to the teacher, you two!!!!!   
Class Representative 

P.S. What happened this morning?!?! Answer me!   
=====================================================================================   
Unfortunately, Hikari's message was not the (thought to be) private communication that Alex's and Touji's were, so it popped up of every screen in the class. A mass of barely controlled laughter was heard, almost felt, when a response came up in the same fashion.   
=====================================================================================   
But, O great and almighty Class Representative Hikori, has not thou decreed, nye, commanded, thy silence? How shalt thy answer thee with closed lips and halted hands?   
The Admiral   
=====================================================================================   
Mr. Suzuhara concluded there is nothing quite as frightening as seeing both Hikari and Asuka fire simultaneous and equally powerful death glares at someone. Especially someone who was silently laughing his ass off. He tried to think of something really hilarious to post, but was halted when, almost like 'smart ass radar' based targeting systems, the both of them turned and glared at him. He very quickly realized that his video had loaded and didn't even touch his keyboard for the rest of the day.   
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Tokyo-3 Central High School: Track Field ^1:15 PM^ 

Today ended up being Alex's first day of Phys. Ed. class outside of the U.S., having been spared by either it being his first day or being laid up in the hospital from the previous ones. Considering the rather lax expectations of the States, Alex was almost excused from this day due to a massive coronary right on the track field when he heard the coach say, "six kilometers, GO!" ~BLEEP sound from whistle~ 

"WHAT?!?! Are you insane?!" Alex cried in pain that he knew was coming. 

"No, I'm not. What's the problem?" 

"I... don't.... run.... Period. I can't run worth shit and I guarantee I'm not going to improve much, if at all." 

"You want an excuse to not have to run, eh? Let's see..." An almost evil grin found it's way into the coach's complexion as he saw most of the class run by about start their second lap, "Suzuhara! Come here!" 

Touji broke off from his run and jogged over to the two of them, "Yeah, Coach?" 

"A challenge. Both of you; line up right here," he pushed both of them up to a permanent line, "hundred meter dash. Ready?" 

"Hey, Touji, go for it. Don't hold back on my account." 

"If you like losing..." 

"GO!" ~another BLEEP sound~ 

Alex broke from the line a fraction of a second before Touji, and despite his longer legs and wider gait, he couldn't match Touji's sheer speed, even in perfect condition. At the end of the dash, Touji won by a good three-fourths of a second. 

Upon arrival, Alex found himself a nice semi clean spot to collapse, panting, against the fence. His mood had obviously darkened considerably by the time the Coach got around to jogging up to them. 

"Very good! That was a damn good run, son. Touji, when's the last time anybody beat you? Or even come as close as he had?" 

Touji took a deep breath before answering, "A year, maybe two. And you're complaining about this little jog?" He flashed a wily smile. 

"I am *deep breath* a sprinter. *deep breath* Fifty yards *deep breath* no problem. Fifty *smaller deep breath* yards and an inch *breath* I fall over dead.   
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Tokyo-3 Central High School: Boy's Locker Room ^2:17 PM^ 

"I think I'm going to die. I KNOW I'm going to die." Alex whines as he changes back into his 'black as night' wardrobe with Touji four lockers to the right. 

"Relax, you'll be fine. I have to ask, though; does America even have a Phys. Ed. class?" 

"Ha, ha. Very funny. Yes, technically, they do, but I assure you, it isn't much in comparison. I am going to go throw up, then I'm going home. Tell the teach that I pulled something or something and that I went home. Adios, amigo." 

"Huh?" 

"It's Spanish, means something like 'Good bye, my friend'. See ya'" And so he walked right out the main door from the locker rooms and walked right out the main gate of the school on his way home.   
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Tokyo-3: Main Street ^2:39 PM^ 

As Alex walked home, he could be heard mumbling to himself about all kinds of things, including but not limited to the demanding P.E. classes. 

"Goddamn bullshit... Sent to the Ninth Ring of couchpatato Hell... Fucking Olympic training facility... Just to deal with some God forsaken... things that we call Angels!!!!!" Alex says aloud as thoughts bounce around in his head. Suddenly, an unexpected but not overly surprising sound is heard. An air raid siren, "Well, speak of the Devil! Here comes one now!" Quickly, he jogs back to the NERV Passenger/Car Train station he had just passed and swiped his temporary ID through the card reader, triggering the train to move on despite being 44 seconds ahead of schedule.   
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NERV 6th Division Headquarters: Central Dogma ^2:39 PM^ 

"Data was transmitted to us from the Roosevelt battlegroup, performing war games in international waters. Pattern Blue confirmed from recorded data. Target is 210 kilometers from shore." Hyuga called out as Ritsuko, Commander Ikari, and Vice Commander Fuyutski arrived, "Initial engagement will appear to be against the Amagataki Defense Line." 

"EVA status?" Dr. Akagi asked. 

"All Units ready to deploy upon arrival of their pilots." Maya called over her shoulder as she set up a satellite picture of the lower half of Japan and the southern coastal waters, with a red dot indicating the Angel. 

At this point, the NERV Restricted phone rang, the partially scrambled hotline to Central Dogma whose number was known to but a few. 

"What?" Ritsuko answers it. 

*It's me, Alex. I'm hauling ass through the Geofront now. Is my rifle ready to use?* the voice to shallow, as though the person on the other side has more important uses for his breath. 

"Yes, It's loaded in a storage tower on the surface and the necessary arrangements for it have been made." She confirmed her statement as she made it via her laptop, which displayed a series of green lights next to all the status indicators. 

*Good. Start it charging now, as initial charge takes a good two minutes and the thing has to be stored dry for safety reasons.* his voice suddenly sounded relieved, due to a combination of what the head of R.&D. Section One had just said and his arrival outside the pyramid that was NERV 6th. Division HQ. *I'm here. See ya' in a flash. ~click noise~* 

After a few taps on said laptop, his request was in the process of being taken care of. Ritsuko returned her attention to making battle plans and analyses as the Zeroth Child hauled ass to the locker rooms and got changed from black clothes to a black plug suit.   
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NERV 6th. Division Headquarters: Cage 14 ^2:41 PM^ 

*Unit-07 Entry Plug inserted. Beginning activation.* Sterling called accross the comm net. 

"Sync ratio: 84%. Unit-07 restraints releaseing. Ready for launch in thiry seconds." Maya read off her screens as the MAGI began analyzing and transferring available data on the Angel. 

"Status on the other pilots?" Misato questioned. 

"The've just been picked up from school, ma'am," Lt. Aoba called back, "ETA: seven minutes to launch for   
Units-00, -01, and -02." 

"EVA-07 ready for launch." Lt. Ibuki broke in. 

"LAUNCH EVA!" Major Katsuragi ordered. 

As the Eva began the long climb up, Sterling activated his onboard computer menu and selected the 'music' option. "Genre: Anime...., Series: Gundam Wing...., Title:... Just Communication. That should be good." he spoke aloud as he selected the corresponding holographic buttons. After a few seconds delay, the Tokyo-3 Public Address System once again came on, playing the song programmed into it by the EVA. As the first vocal kicked in, the gargantuine black figure reached the surface. *Okay, final safety locks released. Beginning sortie.* Alex stated for the record, then in a much less secure tone, *Um, where's my big gun?* 

*The Ion/Plasma rifle was stored in surface weapons cache 5-B. It's about two kilometers to your immediate right.We're extending it now for connection.* Dr. Akagi filled in. 

*I'm on it.* Sterling headed out in the prescribed direction, reaching the outstreched weapon and positioned his EVA to receive it. Due to the rather increadible recoil of the Rifle, it anchors to the user at as many points as possible, maximizing control and minimizing the 'slamming' effect against it. The Evangelion's right arm was completely immobilized, locked in by achor lugbolts using the same lock points as the EVA restraints. A pylon extending at a distinct angle from the Rifle locked onto special holes on the right breastplate, stabalizing the massive gun and increasing it's accuracy. As the Eva returned to a standing position, it had one direction of fire: directly ahead and anything within an expanding 20° cone of dead center. 

Following a quick check of his radar, Sterling headed out in search of his prey. He found it much sooner than it found him. Bracing Unit-07 against a building, Alex took aim and pulled the firing trigger the first time, beginning the thirty second arming sequence. Constantly adjusting his sight, he waited as the whine from the weapon growed in pitch, volume, and intensity. Soon, a bright light began to filter out of the barrel and chamber. 

Finally, the on-screen counter ran to zero. *Unit-07.... FIRE!!!!* he cried as he pulled the trigger the second time. For a oddly noticable fraction of a second, nothing happened, then the most earsplitting **_BOOOOOOOOM_** ever known to man was heard, accompanied by a burning, pulsing white light and, almost as an afterthought, an extreamly loud ***_FFFUUUCCCKKK!!!!!!!_*** could have been heard on the comm waves, if anyone at Central Dogma gave a damn at that particular moment.   
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NERV 6th. Division Headquarters: Central Dogma ^2:44 PM^ 

"Massive **_E_**lectro**_M_**agnetic **_P_**ulse! EM buffers coming online." Lt. Ibuki cried as the MAGI went berserk, "Estimated buffer efficiency: 78%. Severe systems damage will result! Recommend emergency shut down and restart." 

"No time." Ritsuko countermanded, "The buffers would be the first thing to shut down. The whole system would crash!" 

"Hold on a second." Lt. Hyuga said, "The armor plates are negating its' strength. It will be down to safe levels before it clears the 17th. armor layer." 

"Thank God." Katsuragi began, "Okay, back on the combat clock. Status reports on EVA and Angel." 

"Surface EM radiation is too thick for our sensors to break through; Angel status unknown." Lt. Aoba said, "I can confirm activation of Unit-07, and the pilot appears to be alright. The EVA itself has suffered moderate damage. Looks like a dislocated shoulder. Auto-repair systems are resetting it. No reason to discontinue combat. Transmission incoming..."   
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Tokyo-3: Active Combat Zone ^2:44 PM^ 

*I say, God DAMN what a rush... shit, this hurts.* Sterling bitched as he got up out of the wreckage of the two buildings his EVA had flown through from the recoil. After giving himself a moment to stabilize, Unit-07 looked over at the smoke cloud that blocked the 4th. Angel from view, *Well, Mr. Angel, as the old saying goes: Fuck with the best, die like the rest!* he taunted with added flair at the end. 

*Alex, listen. Can you give us anything on the Angel's status from up there?* Katsuragi questioned in a surprisingly calm voice. 

*Nope, nothing. But if it suffered just double that recoil, I can assure you, it will have no interest in trying this again.* Alex answered quickly, then asked, *...And when, if ever, do I get backup?* 

Maya broke into the airwaves, *Two minutes, more or less... WAIT! EM field clearing. Sensor data coming in... 4th. Angel is still active!* 

Alex returned his attention to the battlefield to find the smoke cloud mostly cleared. A huge crater could be seen just above the creature's S2 Organ, and the thing had taken out a few buildings of its' own. 

*Well, well, well... I guess you believe in the theory of 'take two, they're small'? ~sharp liquidity clicking sound~ Guess we're just ALL havin' a bad day with decisions, aren't we?* Alex pointed the Rifle at the pot mark on the Angel's tissue and began the firing sequence again. 

The Angel, however, had no intention of standing for this (no pun intended) and after attempting to regenerate its' injuries, moved off, bent on returning the favor for the massive pain it had suffered. 

_Gonna' be close...._> Sterling thought as the Angel started towards him, _Distance... 900 yards, 800. Time to fire... 15 seconds... Too close._> Constantly running the math in his head, the free time between completion of arming and arrival of Angel grew shorter and shorter. "Audible countdown at ten." he ordered the tac com. 

A near human voice replied, "10... _500_>, 9... _400_>, 8... _350_>, 7... _300_>, 6... _250_>, 5... _200_>, 4... _150_>, 3... _100_>, 2... _100_>, 1... _50_>, 0. _0_>" 

Just as Alex pulled the trigger, the Angel whipped up alongside Unit-07, slashing down with both AT-beams it used as arms, blasting right through the priming chamber. _OH, SSSHHHIIITTT!!!!!!> _An unholy wail echoed through the towers and monoliths of Tokyo-3; a light so powerful it negated the sun's own was seen for miles; the blast shattering windows; the EM pulse frying every electronic device within a three mile sphere of ground zero.   
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NERV 6th. Division Headquarters: Central Dogma ^2:46 PM^ 

"Get those monitors back up, NOW!" Katsuragi yelled as every screen in the room went to static. 

"The EMP overloaded the buffers. It'll take a few minutes to get the less protected systems back online." Maya informed as she rapidly tapped command after command into the system to comply with her orders. 

"Pilot status update!" 

"Asuka, Shinji, and Rei are changing as we speak. Unit-07 is still transmitting realistic data, so I believe the EVA itself is still functional." Hyuga supplied, "I can't get anything on pilot life signs, but that wasn't high on the priorities list when the EM resisters were installed. I do have a damage report coming in, though... This is NOT good." he ended with multiple worry lines around his face. 

"WHAT is not good?" Misato was about ready to kill someone for not being able to provide ALL the information. 

"Chest armor breached; it would appear that that support brace is now most of the way through the EVA. The right arm is completely missing at the shoulder, but the pylon is still attached. The first layer of armor across the right side appears to be partially fused. Cranial damage suffered, extent unknown." Shirugu read the screen aloud with increasing pain in his voice with each sentence, "Unit-07 cannot continue combat. The nueral buffers are at their limits to prevent nervous system damage." 

"SHIT! Can something just go RIGHT for a change!!!!" Katsuragi took a seat and rested her face in her hands and, from that position, said, "Unit-07's recovery is now a Level 2 priority. The only excuse I'll accept for its' loss is that it was a choice between Unit-07 and the 4th Angel." 

"Ma'am," Lt. Ibuki called, "all other EVAs are ready to launch. The pilots are requesting updates and orders." 

"Right..." Misato murmured, then stood up and instructed, "Alright, this is it: Shinji, you and Asuka will engage the Angel. Try to draw it away from Unit-07 if at all possible. Rei, use Unit-00 to assist Unit-07 to the nearest recovery lift, then join up against the Target. Got it?" After a series of 'Yes, Ma'am!'s came in, "LAUNCH EVAS!"   
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Tokyo-3: Active Combat Zone ^2:46 PM^ 

"Mother fucker..." _If it weren't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any. Joyful, just joyful_> Sterling thought as he gained enough of a foothold against the pain to open his eyes and figure out what was going on. He was met with half of his video screens displaying nothing but static. He tried to reset the cameras, but his hand didn't budge. "What the Hell is this?!" He tried merely to make his arm move. Nothing. "Okay...., we can deal with this. I hope." 

Just then, the status screen, which had been displaying both a text based and visual, wire frame demonstration of damage suffered, suddenly started flashing 'ANGEL APPROACHING'. "Where, Goddamn it, WHERE?" Alex turned Unit-07 as fast as it would until he got a visual sighting of the enemy, burned to a crisp but already regenerating. 

"Jesus H. Christ!!! Does this thing ever give up?!?!" He reached up and took in hand the Progressive Knife stored in the intact left pylon, providing a reversed combat grip. Sterling attempted a quick jab, but all he got for it was an example of how undamaged the Angel's AT-blades were as they dug through the damaged armor, slicing off the remainder of the right arm and taking the warped and twisted pylon as well. "OUCH! You little bitch!" Unit-07 fell into a defensive combat stance, exposing for attack his severely damaged right side. 

With each slash the Angel made against it, the wounded bio-mechanical monster parried with its' puny blade, doing little more than delay what was to be the inevitable. That is, until a steady line of machine gun fire went flying past Unit-07 to impact on the enemy AT-Field, blinding it for a moment. Sterling capitalized on this to try and escape, but as he turned to run, his EVA simply turned and fell flat on its' face. "What the fuck is it NOW?!" He screamed at the HUD. 

The main EVA computer, by some miracle, actually figured out what he wanted to know, and displayed it on the main screen. As the status report had said earlier, the outermost armor layer had finally fused, turning the right side of Unit-07 into a one continuous, solid piece of metal. Alex was preparing to use every offending, insulting, and downright evil word to describe the situation at hand when a huge blue hand passed over the camera's pickup as Unit-00 grasped hold of his Eva and lifted it back to a standing position. "Pilot Sterling, are you alright?" Rei's emotionless face and voice seemed strained, and not from the light effort of having her EVA lift up another. 

"I thought they told you, Ayanami. All of us American pilots are the same: death proof, pain proof, rust resistant." Alex, despite his pain, forced a sincere looking smile. "Just give me a second to get this armor off, and then we'll be off. Note to all:" Sterling said as he boosted his radio output to max, "If you are offended by EVA nudity, please close your eyes and look the other way." He then entered a few commands into the status monitor, and all the screens in the Entry Plug flashed 'SELECTIVE ARMOR PURGE INITIATING' three times before the explosive bolts armed and detonated, blowing away the damaged plates, leaving Unit-07 mobile again but defenseless on the right side. "Let's go!" He signaled to Rei before the both of them set off for recovery lift 5-A, Unit-07 in the lead, with Unit-00 staying slightly behind with a firm grip on the other EVA's shoulders. 

Just before their arrival, the blast doors on the lift opened up, allowing the war scared android to gently load itself inside, the safety locks anchoring into the undamaged left pylon and jacking into thin air on the right. As the lift started down, Sterling transmitted one last message on the tactical frequency, "Rei, kick that piece of shit's ass for me by proxy, 'k?"   
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NERV 6th. Division Headquarters: Debriefing Room ^3:40 PM^ 

"... And is now balancing against Unit-01 by the impact point of its' Progressive Knife." Major Katsuragi concluded the eight minute recitation of the day's events to the Commanders of NERV 6th Division. 

"Very well. Dr. Akagi; your report?" Gendo rotated his eyes from the purple haired Director of Operations to the blonde scientist. 

"Unit-01 appears to have suffered cosmetic damage only. It shouldn't need more than a few cans of paint. Units-00 and -02 suffered moderate damage each. Regeneration is under way, and due to the presence of all limbs, will be completed within 36 hours. Unit-07 is the problem child of the bunch, no insult to you, Alex," Ritsuko quickly turned and looked at the mildly unhappy ebony clad pilot behind her, amongst the more brightly colored ones, "It lost an arm, all of the armor plates on the right side torso, and suffered head and brain damage. We've been forced to run full systems tests on each neural pathway individually. That alone will take two weeks. The reconstruction of the head and arm will take 72 hours, and Unit-07 will be fully operational six hours after that." 

"And Unit-07 was the first to engage the Angel? What is the pilot's analysis of the battle?" Gendo once again changed the focus of his calm stealing look. 

Sterling, with great care, stood up and faced his superior officer, "My analysis is simple: I was wrong. I calculated distance to target, rate of closing, and the end product was a negative once I subtracted the time to firing. I knew it was over with and I tried anyway. Today, luck was against me." the speaker redirected his eyes from directly ahead to lock gazes with Commander Ikari, "However, if given the opportunity, I would do it all over again. This battle gave me a painful reminder that even the most powerful and advanced technology and abilities are useless without the basics to support it. A lesson that should be taken to heart." With this, the pilot once again sat down with equal care. 

"Dismissed." was Gendo's only response as the seats he and Fuyutski were sitting in descended to parts unknown. The meeting began to break up, everyone returning to their other duties. As some of the more important people reached the door, a request was heard, "Misato, Ritsuko, my fellow pilots, could you hang back a minute? There's something I want to tell you." 

Puzzled, the people named sat back down in the chairs they had just abandoned. Alex turned his around and, after a drawn out, audible sigh, began, "Okay, this is... rather uncomfortable for me, so just bear with me, okay?" A couple of nods were seen, so he continued, "What I'm about to say to you all is..., well, is something I haven't said with any heart felt sincerity in almost five years. ~looks directly into Misato's eyes~ I give you my sincerest apologies for my behavior over the past month. My actions and speech were out of line and inappropriate regardless of culture or organization. While I consider it beneath me to beg, save true life or death circumstances, ~looks at each of the rooms occupants, one by one~ I do ask that you forgive me. I can't promise to not do it again, but I can promise to minimize it as much as I can. Okay? Okay! I'm gone!" and so, he started to make good his statement. He had reached the door before he heard an, "I forgive you, Pilot Sterling..." come out of an outwardly uncaring young girl.   
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Chapter Four Due: 1st. of May. 

Post Story Author's Notes: 

(*)- See a separate story entitled "_Section Two- Mission: Immpossible_", to be posted within one week of this chapter. 

(+) To minimize confusion, the web adress is, to my knowledge, totally ficticious. My deepest apologies if this address actually exists.   
  



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